Wraith
Art by Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
General
- Classification
- Undead (Incorporeal)
- Faction/Affiliation
- Various
- Homeworld
- Various
- Area(s)
- Various
Wraiths were a variety of malevolent, hostile spirit that were either unable or unwilling to cross into the Shadowlands. They retained aspects of their identity, but the details of their past life or appearance could be blurred or foggy as if consumed by the nature of the spirit the individual became.
History
For as long as there has been living people, there have been wraiths. Their stories varied considerably from individual to individual, with some driven by vengeance or spite while others simply refused to pass on when it was their time. Regardless, wraiths were dangerous creatures, and many of them had a notable risk of dragging the living to their own demise.
Description
Wraiths were ghosts that were malevolent or hostile in nature. Their appearances could vary as drastically as the peoples they came from, but unlike more benign spirits, their forms were frequently withered and blurred, as if some details had been lost. Many of them were cloaked in what appeared to be heavy, translucent robes that obscured the majority of their faces, and some were weighed down with chains—a symbol of their ties to the the material realm.
These spirits maintained their identities and their intelligence, and they were self-motivated, though also typically possessed a constant, unrelenting fury focused around whatever kept them tethered to the realm of the living. Their danger came most notably in the fact they could operate with their minds largely intact—albeit twisted—and wraiths could therefore plot, deal, and manipulate the living to their own ends if they so chose.
Abilities
Wraiths of mages, priests, or other spellcasters were still capable of harnessing an aspect of their magical power in death, though it was often warped by their undead nature. Their touch was deadly and could draw the life essence from living creatures, which in turn allowed them to harness the souls of those they killed and control them as twisted specters of who they once were.
While the limitations of a wraith varied based on the individual, they universally reviled the light of the sun as it made it difficult for them to truly manifest. Thus, wraiths normally lurked in dark, shadowy reaches far from the safety of day, or operated solely under the darkness of night.
Known
Named
Statblocks
| Warcraft Creature Types |
|---|
| Aberration • Beast • Celestial • Construct • Demon • Dragonkin • Elemental • Fey • Giant • Humanoid • Monstrosity • Ooze • Plant • Undead |
| Undead Creatures | |
|---|---|
| Corporeal | Abomination (Flesh Giant • Fleshshaper • Plague-dog) • Crawling Hand • Deathcharger • Deathroc • Dullahan • Frost Vrykul • Geist • Ghoul • Homunculus • Lich • Mummy • Nightscreamer • Shadehound • Skeleton • Undead Dragon (Bone Drake • Emberwyrm • Frostwyrm • Magmawyrm) • Vampyr (San'layn) • Zombie (Vargul) |
| Incorporeal | Banshee (Farshee) • Ghost • Phantom • Shade • Spectre • Wisp • Wraith |
